Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa will supply nine of its G80-2.0 MW make units to repower the Ovenden Moor project in the UK.
The wind park is located close to the town of Halifax, in the county of West Yorkshire. It was developed by a joint venture of the utility E.ON and renewable generator Energy Power Resources (EPRL) and went into operation in 1993.
Once repowered, the wind park is expected to produce twice the output of electricity, employing less than half the existing number of turbines.
Currently, Ovenden Moor has 23 wind turbines which have operated for 22 years. And the total capacity of the plant is 9 megawatts. With the introduction of the new-generation turbines, the project will have peak capacity of 18 megawatts.
Gamesa will take care of the supply, installation and commissioning of the turbines under the terms of the agreement. And the repowered project is expected to begin generating electricity in 2016.
.@Gamesa_Official to install nine turbines to #repower a wind farm in the #UK @eonenergyuk http://t.co/65eXSmD0Vr
— Gamesa (@Gamesa_Official) July 27, 2015
Output from the repowered plant will be adequate to meet the average electricity requirements of 12,000 homes in the UK and prevent emission of 21,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per annum.
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The supply contract for Gamesa has come at a time when the UK is undergoing a policy shift in its support for wind energy projects. The incumbent government is working towards cutting sops that are being enjoyed by wind power projects in the UK. The government wants to invest the savings in other renewable energy sources that require promotion.
Under the circumstances, wind power projects are likely to shift focus east to countries such as China and India. Gamesa recently signed an order for 250 megawatts with Indian wind power company Orange.
The company is to construct three wind parks — two 100 MW and one 50 MW — for Orange in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. One 100 megawatt project is to come up at Ananthapur in Andhra Pradesh; the other 100 megawatt project is planned for Agar in Madhya Pradesh; and the 50 megawatt project will come up at Ratlam in that state.
The wind power potential of China is expected to bring several developers to the country. Reuters has reported today that the country has connected 9.16 gigawatts of wind power to its grid in the first half of 2015. The figures published by China’s top energy regulator shows that the country has increased wind power capacity by 9.5 percent compared with last year.
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At present, the total grid-connected wind capacity of China stands at 105.53 gigawatts, National Energy Administration (NEA) has stated.
In terms of power generated, wind farms in China have supplied 97.72 billion kilowatt-hours to the grid over the first half of this year. The NEA has also reported that 17.48 billion kWh were wasted, amounting to 15.2 percent of the total. It is further indication of the potential the country holds in development of wind energy projects.
Ajith Kumar S